Tbilisi flooding death toll rises to 19

Nineteen people have been killed in one of the worst floods to hit Georgia's capital of Tbilisi, authorities said on Tuesday, a day after freak floods destroyed houses, tore up roads and swept away zoo animals.

The human death toll rose to 19 on Tuesday when bodies of a young woman and two men were recovered from flooded Mziuri Park in downtown Tbilisi, Georgia's State Security and Crisis Management Council said.

Meanwhile, six people remained missing after an intense downpour that began late Saturday turned a river that runs through the capital city into a raging torrent, the council said.

On Tuesday, the Parliament, in a special session in Kutaisi, unanimously approved presidential decrees authorizing the use of armed forces in the flooding relief efforts.

As of Tuesday, Heroes Square and right embankment of the Mtkvari river were reopened for traffic after 24 hours of hard work.

However, incoming heavy rain in Tbilisi late Tuesday had forced the authorities to suspend clearing works and withdraw workers, volunteers and heavy equipment from the flood-hit areas as a precaution.

Initial estimate of the flooding damage was at 18 million U.S. dollars, but Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili warned that the cost would be "quite substantial and may reach 100 million lari ( about 45 million U.S. dollars)." Endite